Medical imaging articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Individuals vary considerably in how they are affected by stress. Here, the authors show that the severity of psychopathological symptoms triggered by prolonged real-life stress relate to fMRI-measured responsivity of the human brainstem arousal system and associated pupil responses.

    • Marcus Grueschow
    • , Nico Stenz
    •  & Birgit Kleim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Radiographic imaging is routinely used to evaluate treatment response in solid tumors. Here, the authors present a multi-task deep learning approach that allows simultaneous tumor segmentation and response prediction from longitudinal images in a multi-center study on rectal cancer.

    • Cheng Jin
    • , Heng Yu
    •  & Ruijiang Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is still challenging to make accurate diagnosis of biliary atresia (BA) with sonographic gallbladder images particularly in rural areas without relevant expertise. Here, the authors develop a diagnostic deep learning model which favourable performance in comparison with human experts in multi-center external validation.

    • Wenying Zhou
    • , Yang Yang
    •  & Luyao Zhou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Monitoring of cerebral function in human neonates remains challenging. Here, the authors propose a bedside monitoring technique using functional ultrasound to identify markers of cerebral activity based on intrinsic functional connectivity for early brain function monitoring.

    • Jerome Baranger
    • , Charlie Demene
    •  & Mickael Tanter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pelvic radiographs (PXRs) are essential for detecting proximal femur and pelvis injuries in trauma patients, but none of the currently available algorithms can detect all kinds of trauma-related radiographic findings. Here, the authors develop a multiscale deep learning algorithm trained with weakly supervised point annotation.

    • Chi-Tung Cheng
    • , Yirui Wang
    •  & Le Lu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Early identification of COVID-19 patients at risk of progression may facilitate more individually aligned treatment plans. Here the authors develop an online nomogram incorporating CT severity score and clinical characteristics for early predicting the disease progression risk among COVID-19 pneumonia patients.

    • Zhichao Feng
    • , Qizhi Yu
    •  & Wei Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors present a concept for targeted clinical magnetic resonance imaging for relatively small targets in the body. They use an artificial resonator for spatial redistribution and passive focusing of the radiofrequency magnetic flux and demonstrate feasibility for targeted breast imaging.

    • Alena Shchelokova
    • , Viacheslav Ivanov
    •  & Anna Andreychenko

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High resolution intravascular imaging in the brain is limited by the high tortuosity of the vasculature. Here the authors present a fiber optic imaging technology using high-frequency optical coherence tomography (HF-OCT) to provide volumetric high resolution images in the highly tortuous cerebral vasculature.

    • Giovanni J. Ughi
    • , Miklos G. Marosfoi
    •  & Ajit S. Puri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    MRI has been used for the non-invasive imaging of human brain aging but is sensitive to both tissue molecular composition and water content. Here the authors present a quantitative MRI method that discriminates these factors and describe region-specific changes in the molecular composition of the aging human brain.

    • Shir Filo
    • , Oshrat Shtangel
    •  & Aviv A. Mezer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Iatrogenic injury of the ureters is a feared complication of laparoscopic abdominal surgery. Here the authors present the NIR fluorophore ZW800-1 as an intraoperative imaging agent for ureter mapping, showing its safety, pharmacokinetic properties, and efficacy in healthy volunteers and patients undergoing abdominopelvic surgery.

    • Kim S. de Valk
    • , Henricus J. Handgraaf
    •  & Alexander L. Vahrmeijer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Imaging the mouse brain using glass cranial windows has limitations in terms of flexibility and long-term imaging. Here the authors engineer transparent polymer skulls that can fit various skull morphologies and can be implanted for over 300 days, enabling simultaneous high resolution brain imaging and electrophysiology across large cortical areas.

    • Leila Ghanbari
    • , Russell E. Carter
    •  & Suhasa B. Kodandaramaiah

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biomedical image analysis challenges have increased in the last ten years, but common practices have not been established yet. Here the authors analyze 150 recent challenges and demonstrate that outcome varies based on the metrics used and that limited information reporting hampers reproducibility.

    • Lena Maier-Hein
    • , Matthias Eisenmann
    •  & Annette Kopp-Schneider

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Anemia has a global prevalence of over 2 billion people and is diagnosed via blood-based laboratory test. Here the authors describe a smartphone app that can estimate hemoglobin levels and detect anemia by analyzing pictures of fingernail beds taken with a smartphone and without the need of any external equipment.

    • Robert G. Mannino
    • , David R. Myers
    •  & Wilbur A. Lam

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fluorescent tracers are being tested in clinical trials to improve detection of tumor margins, but procedures are not standardised. Here, the authors develop an analytical framework that is compatible with the workflow in the operating theatre, and show that it leads to an 88% increase in intraoperative detection of tumor margins in patients with breast cancer.

    • Marjory Koller
    • , Si-Qi Qiu
    •  & Gooitzen M. van Dam

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Conventional coil arrays require complex decoupling technologies to reduce electromagnetic coupling between coil elements. Here, the authors report a self-decoupled RF coil design that achieves high inter-coil isolation between adjacent and non-adjacent elements and mixed arrays of loops and dipoles

    • Xinqiang Yan
    • , John C. Gore
    •  & William A. Grissom

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The engagement of DNA-binding drugs to their target is difficult to study, particularly in vivo. Here the authors develop an in vivo fluorescence lifetime imaging confocal laparo/endomicroscope to show intra- and inter-tumor heterogeneity in doxorubicin binding to peritoneal metastases, which depends on the route of administration.

    • Hugh Sparks
    • , Hiroshi Kondo
    •  & Erik Sahai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Zika virus infection during pregnancy can result in birth defects, but underlying pathogenesis at the maternal-fetal interface is unclear. Here, the authors use non-invasive in vivo imaging of Zika-infected rhesus macaques and show that infection results in abnormal oxygen transport across the placenta.

    • Alec J. Hirsch
    • , Victoria H. J. Roberts
    •  & Daniel N. Streblow

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Current approaches to visualise brown adipose tissue (BAT) rely primarily on markers that reflect its metabolic activity. Here, the authors show that PD-L1 is expressed on brown adipocytes, does not change upon BAT activation, and that BAT volume in mice can be measured by PET-CT with a radiolabeled anti-PD-L1 antibody.

    • Jessica R. Ingram
    • , Michael Dougan
    •  & Hidde L. Ploegh

  • Editorial
    | Open Access

    The validity of conclusions drawn from functional MRI research has been questioned for some time now. Nature Neuroscience and Nature Communications are committed to working with neuroimaging researchers to improve the robustness and reproducibility of their work.

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Iron oxide microparticles (MPIO) are better MRI contrast agents than nanoparticles, but are of limited clinical use as they are not degradable and so risk toxicity. Here the authors present an iron oxide microparticle MRI contrast agent with peptide linkers that enable degradation into non-toxic nanoparticlesin vivo.

    • Francisco Perez-Balderas
    • , Sander I. van Kasteren
    •  & Benjamin G. Davis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pain is affected by cerebral processes in addition to afferent nociceptive input. Here the authors develop an fMRI-based signature that predicts pain independent of the intensity of nociceptive signals and mediates the pain-modulating effects of several cognitive interventions.

    • Choong-Wan Woo
    • , Liane Schmidt
    •  & Tor D. Wager

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Brown adipose tissue (BAT) takes up and burns fatty acids for thermogenesis in mice. Here the authors use PET to show that, in humans, cold stimulation increases BAT dietary fatty acid uptake from plasma and oxidative metabolism, although, unlike mice, human BAT takes up less fatty acids than other metabolic tissues.

    • Denis P. Blondin
    • , Hans C. Tingelstad
    •  & André C. Carpentier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    MRI imaging can be significantly enhanced by injecting highly magnetized chemical agents, but the short magnetization lifetime requires processing at the point of use. Here, the authors demonstrate a method that could extend the lifetime from seconds to hours, enabling remote preparation.

    • Xiao Ji
    • , Aurélien Bornet
    •  & Sami Jannin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) requires a uniform B1+ radiofrequency field. Here the authors present plug-n-play MRF, a technique that enables multiparametric imaging with heterogeneous B1+fields, and demonstrate its utility in the presence of RF distortion caused by a metallic orthopaedic implant.

    • Martijn A. Cloos
    • , Florian Knoll
    •  & Daniel K. Sodickson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Two-photon laser scanning microscopy allows functional calcium imaging of large neuronal populations in vivo, but the recorded signals typically suffer from low signal to noise. Here the authors develop an algorithm, MLspike, which estimates action potentials from noisy calcium signals, and benchmark it against existing methods.

    • Thomas Deneux
    • , Attila Kaszas
    •  & Ivo Vanzetta

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High-throughput imaging methods for brain-wide connectome mapping with precise location reference have been lacking. Here authors report a method that allows simultaneous acquisition of fluorescently labelled neurons and cytoarchitectural landmarks in the same mouse brain at the single-cell resolution.

    • Hui Gong
    • , Dongli Xu
    •  & Qingming Luo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Functional imaging in awake head-fixed mice is a widely used technique to study neural responses. Here the authors report on an open source, fully automated unsupervised system for training mice to self initiate head fixation to enable stable mesoscopic functional imaging of cortical functional connectivity.

    • Timothy H. Murphy
    • , Jamie D. Boyd
    •  & Jeff M. LeDue

  • Article
    | Open Access

    To understand how neuronal networks function, it is important to measure neuronal network activity at the systems level. Here Lemon et al. develop a framework that combines a high-speed multi-view light-sheet microscope, a whole-CNS imaging assay and computational tools to demonstrate simultaneous functional imaging across the entire isolated Drosophilalarval CNS.

    • William C. Lemon
    • , Stefan R. Pulver
    •  & Philipp J. Keller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How genetic variation contributes to brain morphology is still poorly understood. Here Chenet al. combine brain imaging with single-nucleotide polymorphism data to discover that a substantial degree of cortical variation is derived from underlying genetic differences.

    • Chi-Hua Chen
    • , Qian Peng
    •  & Anders M. Dale

  • Article |

    The brain exists in a state of constant activity but little is known about very low frequency forms of activity. Here, the authors use high-speed, wide-field, voltage-sensitive dye imaging to investigate the presence and functional structure of infraslow spontaneous activity in anaesthetized and awake mouse cortex.

    • Allen W. Chan
    • , Majid H. Mohajerani
    •  & Timothy H. Murphy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The gut epithelium is damaged in inflammatory bowel disease, but capturing such lesions by histology can be difficult. Here, the authors use stereomicroscopy to visualize different 3D inflammatory structures and associated microbes in humans and in 16 genetic mouse models relevant to intestinal inflammation.

    • Alex Rodriguez-Palacios
    • , Tomohiro Kodani
    •  & Fabio Cominelli

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atherosclerotic plaques with macrocalcification are stable, whereas microcalcification is a key feature of rupture-prone plaques. Here the authors show that18F-NaF PET/CT imaging can distinguish between macro- and microcalcification providing a potential, non-invasive imaging technique to identify patients with high-risk atheroma.

    • Agnese Irkle
    • , Alex T. Vesey
    •  & Anthony P. Davenport

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Direct wavefront sensing with laser ‘guide stars’ is used in astronomy and microscopy to correct for optical aberrations. Wang et al.use near-infrared guide stars to extend this approach to the highly scattering mouse brain, allowing high-resolution fluorescence imaging at 700μm depth.

    • Kai Wang
    • , Wenzhi Sun
    •  & Na Ji

  • Article |

    Multimodal and stimuli-responsive imaging agents can yield more biological information than more typical single-mode or inert imaging probes. Here, the authors have made a dual-modal MRI-fluorescence probe and demonstrate its ability to image redox status in vivo.

    • Molly A. Sowers
    • , Jessica R. McCombs
    •  & Jeremiah A. Johnson

  • Article |

    Current calcium-sensitive probes based on red fluorescent proteins are unsuitable for two-photon excitation at the near-infrared wavelengths commonly used for green fluorescent probes. Wu et al. use a structure-guided approach to engineer a red fluorescent probe with optimal two-photon excitation at these wavelengths.

    • Jiahui Wu
    • , Ahmed S. Abdelfattah
    •  & Robert E. Campbell

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Monitoring neuronal activity in the rodent in vivobrain is commonly done using micro-electrode arrays but these devices are not normally compatible with optical technologies. Here the authors design a transparent and flexible electrode array based on graphene that allows them to combine electrophysiological recordings with optogenetic and imaging experiments.

    • Dong-Wook Park
    • , Amelia A. Schendel
    •  & Justin C. Williams

  • Article |

    Monitoring neuronal activity of large populations of neurons at high-temporal and spatial resolution is important to understand neurophysiology but requires improved tools and methods. Here the authors develop a transparent and flexible electrode based on graphene that allows them to combine electrophysiological recordings with calcium imaging.

    • Duygu Kuzum
    • , Hajime Takano
    •  & Brian Litt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Functional connectivity of brain networks is poorly understood, in part, due to limited imaging approaches. Here, the authors use ultrasound imaging to study functional connectivity in the adult rat brain in vivo, allowing for the identification of highly contrasted intrinsic connectivity patterns.

    • Bruno-Félix Osmanski
    • , Sophie Pezet
    •  & Mickael Tanter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bistable visual perception requires changes in brain activity between different cortical areas. Here, Watanabe et al.demonstrate dynamic patterns of brain activity during bistable visual perception, which link behavioural variability and anatomical individual differences in focal brain regions.

    • Takamitsu Watanabe
    • , Naoki Masuda
    •  & Geraint Rees

  • Article |

    Nanoparticles can be used for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Here, the authors report that nanoparticles made of a single chemical building block, called nanoporphyrins, incorporate eight different functionalities, including various types of imaging, drug delivery and cancer therapy.

    • Yuanpei Li
    • , Tzu-yin Lin
    •  & Kit S. Lam

  • Article |

    X-ray absorption imaging is used for early breast cancer detection but can barely identify the morphology of microcalcifications—a possible indicator of cancer. Wang et al.develop a technique to non-invasively classify different types of microcalcifications and achieve 100% sensitivity on phantom data.

    • Zhentian Wang
    • , Nik Hauser
    •  & Marco Stampanoni

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Studies on Patient H.M. showed that bilateral resection of the hippocampus results in impaired consolidation of long-term memory. Annese et al.create a digital map of Henry Molaison’s brain and find that a significant portion of the posterior hippocampus is actually histologically intact.

    • Jacopo Annese
    • , Natalie M. Schenker-Ahmed
    •  & Suzanne Corkin

Browse broader subjects

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Medical imaging across other nature.com journals